$258,333 in National Fish Habitat Partnership program funds were awarded to six projects that conserve, restore, educate and provide the science to inform strategic salmon habitat conservation in the Mat-Su Basin. Thank you to all those who applied, and congratulations to those who successfully received funding!

Instream Flow Reservations in the Mat-Su Basin (Alaska Department of Fish and Game) This project funds application fees to provide legal protection, by means of instream flow reservations, for portions of Peters Creek, Gate Creek, Kenny Creek, Nine-mile Creek, Kroto Creek, Seventeenmile Creek, Twentymile Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Twin Creek, and the Little Susitna River. In total, 11 applications for reservations of water will be filed, protecting over 200 miles of habitat for anadromous salmon and other fish species, and benefiting salmon fisheries, anglers, and communities throughout the Mat-Su Basin by legally reserving water needed to sustain salmon habitat and production. Partners have already collected hydrologic and biological data needed to file applications for instream flow reservations with Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Removing Salmon Barriers Through the Mat-Su Fish Passage Program (Mat-Su Borough) This project improves fish passage where a tributary of Little Meadow Creek crosses Phillips Drive (ADFG#20501051), and has been identified as a ‘red’ culvert barrier by Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) Fish Passage Improvement Program. The project will restore unimpeded access to Cloudy Lake and its rearing habitat and is part of a larger project to improve fish passage throughout the Big Lake/Meadow Creek area. It improves connectivity to .93 miles and 37 lake acres of lake habitat in the Big Lake drainage, identified in a 2013 USFWS assessment as one of few, key overwintering areas for juvenile coho salmon. It also provides downstream passage by ensuring salmon smolt can emigrate during periods of low flow. The project will be designed using stream simulation standards and techniques – proven methods to accommodate fish and other aquatic species.

Mat-Su Salmon Habitat Partnership Outreach and Coordination (Trout Unlimited) This funding helps ensure that the Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership continues to provide leadership in addressing the potential impacts to salmon and their habitat from increasing human use and development in the Mat-Su Basin. This project supports 1) the Partnership Coordinator position; 2) trainings and workshops for partners, including the Mat-Su Salmon Symposium; and 3) advancing outreach activities for the Partnership to benefit salmon habitat.

Stream Temperature Linkages to Juvenile Salmon in the Little Susitna Watershed (University of Alaska Anchorage – Alaska Center for Conservation Science) This project will provide baseline information on stream thermal regimes and juvenile salmon habitat use across a range of stream temperatures. These data provide the needed inputs to map thermally optimal habitats, identify thermal refugia, and project climate change impacts to fishery resources into the future. Project goals include (1) monitor stream temperatures in the Little Susitna watershed for a third year, (2) monitor juvenile salmon during the summer season, (3) summarize relationships between stream thermal regimes and juvenile salmon abundances and growth, and (4) compare juvenile salmon data for the Little Susitna and Deshka watersheds.

Off-Highway Vehicle Crossings: Web Mapper for the Matanuska-Susitna Salmon Habitat Partnership. (University of Alaska Anchorage – Alaska Center for Conservation Science (ACCS)) ACCS will use aerial imagery (image dates: 2004, 2011, and 2019/20), to map the expansion of Off-highway vehicle (OHV) stream crossings over the past 15 years to allow prioritization of sites with the largest salmon habitat impacts. The project team will also create a web-based mapper of known OHV crossings of salmon habitat and prepare 10-12 location-based portfolios that display impacts on wetlands and stream habitat from a select group of known OHV crossings.  A link to the mapper will be provided to Mat-Su Salmon Habitat partners. This product will support establishment of effective and publicly acceptable mechanisms to support stream health near and at OHV crossings.

2022 Mat‐Su Water Reservation Program Flow Data Acquisition to Protect Salmon Habitat (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) The Mat-Su Water Reservation Program quantifies stream flow in priority waterbodies and protects salmon habitat with instream flow water rights. The program currently supports USGS gages on Kroto Creek, and Bodenburg Creek, and this project represents the 5th of 5 years of gaging on Kroto Creek. This work will benefit salmon fisheries, anglers, and communities throughout the Mat-Su Basin by legally reserving water needed to sustain salmon habitat and production on over 500 miles of streams on 17 tributaries, along with the critical habitats that depend on that flow, such as thousands of acres of riparian wetlands. The Deshka River watershed was identified by partners as having high biological value and high vulnerability to development. Taking action now to obtain long term flow protection through a water reservation on Kroto Creek and other small Deshka River drainage streams included as supplemental sites is a prudent investment for salmon

The Mat-Su Salmon Partnership is part of a broader network of fish habitat partnerships in Alaska and across the country. Find the press release, and a list of other 2021 National Fish Habitat Partnership funded projects here.

Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership members believe that thriving fish, healthy habitats and vibrant communities can co-exist in the Mat-Su. We’ve been busy conserving and restoring salmon habitat and providing the science that informs it,  through science, conservation, restoration and outreach projects.

This report highlights some of the projects and collective accomplishments from 2016-2019.

Learn more about the Partnership’s collective achievements from 2014/15 and 2008-2013.

Healthy streambanks (riparian areas) are valuable community assets that deliver economic, cultural and ecological services to Mat-Su communities. They are vital for the overall health and function of streams, providing crucial habitat for rearing and spawning salmon and helping to maintain healthy water quality. The native vegetation in these areas also benefits people by providing natural erosion control and mitigating flood damage.

Click here to learn more about how riparian areas are important to salmon – and to people, how human activities can impact them, and some best practices to mitigate those impacts.

The Mat-Su Salmon Partnership has produced several science summaries to help synthesize information on various salmon habitat related topics for Mat-Su community leaders and general public.

You can find the importance of wetlands summary here and aquatic invasive species summary here that is focused on pike and aquatic invasive plant Elodea.